AP Photo This Nov. 9, 2012, aerial-file photo shows damaged homes in New Jersey after the region was pounded by Superstorm Sandy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Man-made global warming may further lessen the likelihood of the freak atmospheric steering currents that last year shoved Superstorm Sandy due west into New Jersey, a new study says.

But don’t celebrate a rare beneficial climate change prediction just yet. The study’s authors said the once-in-700-years path was only one factor in the massive $50 billion killer storm. They said other variables such as sea level rise and stronger storms will worsen with global warming and outweigh changes in steering currents predicted by the study’s computer models.

“Sandy was an extremely unusual storm in several respects and pretty freaky. And some of Login to read more